Of elements and men
by pianoplayer01
Summary: A brilliant medicine student is on full scholarship to Yale. And she wants to keep herself to herself, thanks very much. But when a debate class gets to be too much can a certain baker become her best shot at making the grade? Follow her through the trials of college, friendship, heartache and family. This story is one told a million times before - yet still, it is hers.
1. Chapter 1 - Debate Class

On my first day at Yale, I bumped into approximately 14 people, 3 lamp posts and one door. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the least clumsy of people. But I have never been clumsy to the extent that I want to use my textbook right now to double check the symptoms of a concussion, because it felt like I was getting there.

But eventually, I found myself here for my last class of the day - a debate seminar for us to put into practice all those skills our shiny computers should have helped us revise over summer.

The room is huge - half heavy oak panelling that's probably a hundred years old, half steel and apple funded, with a smart board filling up the space next to the green expanse where a short man with messy hair is filling out his details before turning to us.

A certain Dr. Haymitch A. Abernathy.

He trips over his shoe lace and moves forward a few steps in an attempt to cover up the awkward action. There is muffled snickering throughout the front rows, echoing back Mexican wave fashion.

"You won't be laughing so much when you have to be the ambulance crew to diagnose my fractured skull," he quips, running a grubby hand over his overgrown stubble.

"So, my little sardines," he continues, pacing out across the stage, "You have come to learn from the master of all things debate" Glaring at a pink haired girl in the front row, her arm raised a fifth of a fraction too big above her head, he adds "Save all questions for the end, Miss… ?" "Trinket, Sir" "Yeah, till the end"

When I had read his manuscript about the place of alcohol in society in the library, I had thought Abernathy the interesting sort who might be there only for the money to fund his research and nothing much else. Yet he actually seems to have a talent for communicating with the crowd. His statistics are spot on, and students seem willing to participate in small sample debates at the front of class despite all those new strange faces - a rarity even for the enthusiastic rich that Yale tends to collect.

By the end of the period, I have about 6 pages of notes commenting on technique in relation to confidence. How to focus on the muscles in the back so that they won't shake - something neurosurgeons use.

There aren't many questions to be asked and the girl from the first few minutes seems to have forgotten whatever it was she was bursting to ask only an hour ago. We are told in the next class, we will be debating Gender in medicine. Fun.

On my way out, I pause by his desk and wait for him to turn to me. "Ah, I was erm… wondering if… will we all have to speak in the next class?" His eyes are half covered by his shiny spectacles. It is disconcerting with his grin. "And you are?" "Katniss Everdeen?" "You say that like it's a question"

Tapping my sneaker subtly so that he won't see me trying to calm myself down from speaking too much, I reply, "Sorry, I just wondered… if we should prepare something to say for every class? You didn't directly say during the lecture"

" Miss. Everdeen, the class is voluntary involvement.." ah the relief "But, I do recommend that you get involved in as many class debates as possible - after all you will be assessed on your involvement"

There is always a catch. "I see. And what is the pass mark?" "Involvement in at least four weeks of classes and two full debates" "And if I don't?"

That infuriating smirk is back on his stupid smug face. "Well then, Sweetheart, I'll be seeing a lot more of you next year too"

He turns from me to wipe the chalk board and I leave before he can say anything else.

+=+=+=+=+ 


	2. Chapter 2 - First Meeting

Flat 603 was my assigned room and not the worst location - the middle of 12 floors, so I could hardly complain. The stairs give me time to go over that arrogant man's comments without feeling the need to punch a wall and break my fist. Not that I'm a violent person.

"Annie, what did you do with my belt?" The voice echoed from a few floors down but there wasn't anything to see. Then from below me "You don't wanna know doll face"

The source namely became the figures of two of my roommates - the two people who could not be anything less like normal humans if they tried. Honestly, have you ever seen a physics graduate manage to flirt with ten guys and reject all of them? Whilst doing homework? And that's on a bad day with Jo!

Annie on the other hand, isn't too distracted. She is a literature major, with roughly twenty old apple crates worth of garage sale books in her dorm room. Other than her trying to convince me to drink cocktails in colours that aren't listed in DIY stores, she is pretty ok.

In highschool, we were friends but never really close. More out of convenience and the limitations of the small town that Panem was.

"Well Katherine, how ya been?" Jo is drunk. I mean pre-four o'clock drunk. "Haven't seen you in a while"

As I grab a water bottle out of the fridge, she swings her arm around my shoulders. "You should really come out with us tonight, get to know some of the… the…" content shadows her as she thinks of the word, "not Katherine's"

"Maybe some other time Jo, I have a paper to write." At this point Annie pants in from the stairs. "Man, they need to get that elevator fixed"

Collapsing on the sofa, dressed all in red and black, even Shakespeare would be proud of this first rate dramatism. Propping herself up on her elbow after a few moments of silence she looks over to Jo, "So where's my belt, bottle breath?"

"I already told you, probably at Thom's but I haven't seen it"  
"You always do this Jo, we've only been moved in a week and you promised you wouldn't lose stuff when we moved in"  
"Keep it cool, I'll sort it - we can go shopping tomorrow or something"  
"It's Delly's party tonight, neither of us are going to be awake when the mall is open tomorrow!"  
"Fair point… hey, Kat"

Looking up from my spot near to the corridor, I had managed to back away when they were distracted, their eyes are both on me. "Hm? Oh, I'm just going to go get started on my paper"

Blank stare.

"What paper?" Think fast Katniss, think fast. "Erm, for my debate class, they want us to write something… strongly opinioned. So yeah, see ya later"

"Come to Delly's party with us Katniss" "Yeah, you never go out now, you used to…" "It's just not really my thing guys, and I have this paper to write and -"  
"If you come with us for half an hour, we'll leave you alone"  
"Yup, and we can make you up all pretty"  
"Meet a handsome stranger"  
"Ooh, you can borrow my new belt!"  
"About that… erm… Annie"  
"Oh never mind! I have a skirt that's probably your size, and I know Delly would just love to see you -"  
"Ok, fine. Half an hour"

Somehow I've ended up at Capitol, the cafe:bar just outside college, and neither Jo nor Annie are anywhere in sight. After five minutes of us arriving, it was pretty evident that Delly was lost somewhere in this crowd of people, and the other two disappeared in search of other friends or drinks. So now it's just me.

"You're way too pretty to be standing here all alone," half shouts the voice behind me. There is a hand on my hip. "I'm Cato, and you are?"

All this contact is making me uncomfortable. Parties really aren't my scene - too much drinking, too much everything. "Katniss"

His smile is the most arrogant thing I have ever seen. It reminds me too much of Dr. Abernathy and the sort of guys who end up being the Disney villain. Definitely a Hans. "Well Katie, do you wanna dance?"

His grip on me is solid, too there. And in the process of trying to come up with a polite way to say no, he seems to think me speechless by his presence. "Or we could just get out of here, if you want…" In the two seconds of meeting, his face is already getting closer to mine and mine cannot get further away, when suddenly, he isn't there at all.

"What're you doing man?" "She looked uncomfortable and you my friend, are drunk" "Get your own girl, it isn't like there's not plenty to choose from here"  
"Well, when you can stop talking about them like meat, I'm sure someone will think you very charming"

Cato walks away, looking back from about a meter forward but my new pursuer is still stood in front of me. He turns around and I instantly recognise him as one of the people from the front row in my biology class.

"You were in my biology class" slips out at the same time as he starts to say something. He laughs, stretching his arm to scratch the back of his neck, "Well hello to you too!"

The room is loud, with dark colours marring most things more heavily than the sound waves - it feels like things are being absorbed more than talked over and it makes me feel oddly claustrophobic.

"So what's your name?" "Katniss"  
"Nice, like the water plant?"  
"How do you know that?"  
"Scouts, botany"

I stare at him. Nobody knows that. Like, nobody. It is strange to come across someone who knows things that I usually would have to explain. Or correct. But having neither of these things to do I find myself rather lost for words.

"Sorry, didn't mean to just leave you hanging there, I'm Peeta" He proffers his hand for me to shake. I look at it. His fingers thin, calloused, with strong palms.

"Like the bread?"

He laughs, and it is lighter than the heavy drapes over the by the speakers. It seems to sit on top of all the bass in that nice kind of way you don't really know a word for.

"Yes, exactly like the bread" 


End file.
